3.1 Field of the Invention
The present invention provides systems, methods, and software for providing the capability to process electronic materials (including donations) of various kinds by transfer of digital materials, both anonymously and non-anonymously. The digital materials can include media, documents, programs, offers, or others, including title materials which represent digital bearer instruments that express at least one right, such as those produced commercially by Navio Systems Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.
3.2 The Related Art
3.2.1 Existing Mechanisms
Examples of existing mechanisms to enable donors to make donations to recipients include sending items such as checks, postal money orders, certificates, coupons, or other items through a postal mail system such as the U.S. Post Office or in person, performing credit card transactions in postal mail, over the phone or by way of internet transactions, and electronic funds transfers such as those done by bank or companies such as PayPal.
Sending checks, postal money orders, certificates, coupons or other items through a postal mail system is slow, often taking days to complete delivery, and can be expensive due to the need to pay for envelopes, boxes, or other shipping materials, as well as postage and possibly other services such as delivery confirmation. If a delivery confirmation service is not purchased, there is no confirmation that the donation has been received unless a separate mechanism, such as an acknowledgement letter, is used. When sending funds by way of check or money order it is not possible to remain anonymous, and sending cash is unwise and discouraged by some postal systems. To donate digital materials it is necessary to first create a transport medium for them, such as a CD, DVD, “thumb drive”, or other portable digital medium.
Credit Card Transactions, whether done using written forms sent through a postal mail system, in a phone conversation, or over the Internet, involve some level of risk that the credit card information will be misused, and the transaction cannot be handled anonymously. Filling out forms, whether printed or on-line, can be time consuming and subject to error. The time required can be a disincentive to donating. Credit cards are only useful for transferring funds, and can only transfer funds to those with a prior arrangement with a credit card company that enables them to accept credit card payments (i.e., a “merchant account”). Use of such accounts can involve expense, often in the form of a percentage of each transaction going to the credit card company rather than to the account owner. To donate anything other than funds requires a third party who can accept a credit card payment and deliver the required item to the recipient, generally involving both additional time and additional expense. Credit cards do, however, inherently provide confirmation of the donation in the form of a periodic statement from the credit card company to the credit card owner specifying the date, amount, and recipient of each transaction.
Electronic Funds Transfers, such as those done by banks or companies such as PayPal, have many of the same disadvantages as credit cards. There is some risk of misappropriation of funds, though the companies that perform these transfers may insure users against such losses. Transfers are not anonymous. It can be time consuming to arrange such transfers, and only funds may be transferred. The recipient and the donor may both be required to have accounts with the same funds transfer company, and may also be required to have a bank account or credit card to act as the source or destination for the transfer. As with credit cards, the company doing the transfer will generally provide confirmation that the transfer has taken place.
What is lacking in the existing methods is a way to donate funds, a variety of digital materials, or the right to acquire other items, safely, quickly, easily, and inexpensively in a manner which allows the donor to remain anonymous if so desired, and which provides confirmation of the donation to all parties.
3.2.2 Enabling Technology
There are technologies available that can assist in providing donation methods that are safe, quick, easy and inexpensive to use, that allow for anonymity when desired, and which can provide confirmation of the transfer to all parties. These include, but are not limited to, titles, other Digital Bearer Instruments (DBIs), commerce processing systems for titles, “digital wallets”, digital properties, or representations of rights to properties, and title materials embedded in digital media.
A title is a digital bearer instrument that expresses at least one right. Digital bearer instruments originated as digital representations of bearer instruments, and were popularized by digital cash. Title materials include title objects, portions of title objects, for example a specific right definition, a reference to a specific title or right, and independently validatable portions of title objects. A stub is one example of an independently validatible portion of a title. Title materials may also include specific instances of digital bearer instruments that may not directly include a specific right, but rather provide a reference to such a right. Titles are presented to title-enabled processes, computers, and devices, which use a presented title to operate on and/or facilitate redemption of rights expressed by each title. Titles employed by specific embodiments of the present invention are related to the title technologies provided by Navio Systems Inc., of Cupertino Calif.
Title technology, including various title processing arrangements, is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/742,253, filed Apr. 30, 2007, titled “Enhanced Title Processing Arrangement,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/439,629, filed May 15, 2003, titled “Methods and Apparatus for Title Protocol, Authentication, and Sharing,” the entire disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Such arrangements are effective for processing title materials.